Beach umbrella



Nov. 1, 1966 M. PEARLSTINE 3,282,275

BEACH UMBRELLA Filed Feb. l2, 1965 FIG. 2. FIGS.

f l l l l Il umm] INVENTOR, MORTON PEARLSTINE HAROLD s. oBRsAN, Jr.

ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,282,275 BEACH UMBRELLA Morton Pearlstne, Cynwyd, Pa. (1419 Old Welsh Road, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.) Filed Feb. 12, 1965, Ser. No. 432,239 2 Claims. (Cl. 135-20) This invention relates to a beach umbrella or similar type of collapsable umbrella commonly used on a beach, sun porches, or the like.

More particularly, this invention relates to an improved type of umbrella having apparatus for controlling the movement of the fabric-supporting ribs which far exceeds the capability and efliciency of that presently known in thetrade.

The typical umbrella of the class -described employs a nylon cord or the like to raise and lower a collarlike member fitted on the center post which moves rods connected to the fabricsupporting ribs. As the collar is raised, the rods push the ribs outwardly an-d upwardly to open the umbrella. The controlling cord norm-ally is under heavy tension and under certain adverse conditions, for example, when there is a wind or the components arerusty, the load increases to a point suiiicient to break the cord. Also, under adverse conditions, the cord becomes very tightly wound on the driving shaft and bearing surfaces and often jams, thereby preventing opening or closing the umbrella.

Therefore, it is the primary object of this invention to provide apparatus for opening and closing a relatively large beach or patio umbrella which is strong enough to continue to operate under adverse conditi-ons, such as those described briefly above, without breaking o'r binding.

It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus having the above advantages which is easy to operate and inexpensive to manufacture.

These and other advantages of this inventi-on will become more apparent from the description set forth herein and from the drawings attached hereto, wherein:

FIGURE l is a view in side elevatio-n of a typical beach umbrella having lthe preferred form of the apparatus of this invention mounted therein;

FIGURE 2 is a view, partly in section and partly in side elevation, taken along the lines and arrows II-II of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines and arrows III-III of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines and arrows IV-IV of FIGURE 2.

Referring preliminarily to FIGURE 1 of the drawing, a typical beach or patio umbrella is shown therein being partly supported by a table 12, through which .the

. umbrella extends, and .held upright in a stand 14. The

umbrella is comprised of a substantially vertically disposed hollow center support member or post 16 having an elongated axial slot 1S formed therein, a collar 20 mounted for vertical movement on the outside of the post, a series of generally radially directed n'bs 22, each having one end mounted pivotally in top 24 of post 16 and an equal number of rods 26 connected pivotally to the collar and ribs 22 at a location along their lengths to control the movement of the ribs. A sui-table fabric is mounted on the ribs to shield a person or the table 12, but the fabric is omitted in FIGURE 1 so as to more clearly disclose the cornponents.

Of course, it should be understood that the umbrella structure 1t)` described hereinabove is that of the standard form known in the art and that the novel apparatus of this invention described hereinafter can be mounted on the type shown or on modified versions thereof as are well known in the trade. For instance, the basic umbrella con- 3,282,275 Patented Nov. 1, 1966 struction could be so formed as to tilt from the vertical position at the top orat some other location along its length. Similarly, various supports can be used without rendering such a basic umbrella construction unsuitable for including Within it the apparatus of this invention.

Mounted within the hollow post 16 is an endless chain 30, for example an ordinary bicycle chain (FIGURES 2 and 3), which encircles at one end a bearing or support member 32 mounted adjacent to the top of the post 16 above the top terminus of the slot 18. Bearing 32 may be in the form of a stud or shaft simply placed through opposing w-alls of the cylindrical post 16 or a sprocket (not shown) can be mounted for free rotation on a similarly disposed shaft.

At the bottom end, chain 30 encircles a drive sprocket 34 mounted within the hollow post below the terminus of slot 18 on a shaft 36 extending therethrough. Shaft 36 (FIGURE 2) extends between a bore 38 formed in the wall of the post 1-6 through a block 39 mounted against the outside of the post'and ou-t of control box 40. A handle 42 (FIGURE 4) is mounted onv the distal en-d of shaft 36 and plate 44, partly within box 40, having a ratchet 46 attached there-to by pins 48, is also mounted on shaft 36 for movement therewith. A pawl 50 is mounted for free pivotal movement on bolt 53 mounted in block 39, the pawl having a thumb flange 51 which extends through an opening 54 in the control box and a flange 52 which engages ratchet 46 when the pawl is in the engaging position.

An L-shaped member 60 having a restricted thickness (FIGURE 3) is iixedly attached to the chain 30 at a selected position along its length. If a bicycle chain is used, member 60 can be secured by placing two chain joining bolts in holes in two end prongs 61 of the member. Member 60 extends through the axial slot in the cylindrical post 16 and is lixedly attached to the collar 20 by a liange 62 and rivets 63 outside of the post.

Operation of the preferred form of the apparatus of this invention is as follows. When the umbrella is in the closed condition, the fabric-supporting ribs 22 are hanging downwardly around the center post and collar 2t) is proximate the bottom end of slot 18. As handle 42 is rotated, turning sprocket 34 in a counter-clockwise direction (FIG- URES 2 and 3), chain 30 begins to rotate and to raise support 60 and collar 20 upwardly thereby pushing rods 26 upwardly and ribs22 outwardly. When the desired height or open condition of the umbrella is realized, 'pawl 50 is pivoted around bolt 53 so that flange 52 contacts ratchet v46. Upon slight clockwise rotation of ratchet 46, the pawl engages the one radial edge of the ratchet to prevent further movement in this direction. By means of the struc- ,tu're described, the umbrella can be locked in any one of a number of open or partly opened positions.

When it is desired -to close the umbrella, pawl 50` is swung to the right as shown in FIGURE 4 or to the disengaged position and the handle is rotated clockwise to rotate the chain and lower the collar. The umbrella can be lowered very quickly by disengaging the paw-l and releasing the handle thereby allowing the weight of the ribs and rods to turn the chain and sprocket.

The chain 30 is quite` suiiicient to lift and hold the umbrella fabric and metal components under any conditions and ensures easy and trouble-free operation. By selecting the ldesired size of sprocket and handle, the speed and force required to open the umbrella can be varied as desired.

Although this invention has been described with reference to specific forms and embodiments, it should be understood that various modiiications and alterations could be made by those skilled in the art but that such changes would be within the spirit and scope of this invention as define-d in the claims.

I claim:

1. In a beach umbrella or the like having a substantially vertically positioned hollow fsupport member, a plurality of generally radially arranged fabric supporting ribs each mounted at one end on the top of the member and an equal number of rods connected to the ribs and a collar mounted for vertical movement on the Asurface of the support member to open and close the fabric supporting ribs, apparatus for raising and lowering the collar to move the ribs into the desired open position comprising an axial slot formed in the support member and extending a portion of its length,

an upper sprocket shaft extending transversely through the hollow member adjacent to its top end and a sprocket mounted on the shaft within the hollow member for independent rotation therein,

a lower sprocket shaft extending transversely through the hollow support member adjacent to its bottom end having a sprocket and handle fixedly mounted thereon, said sprocket being located within the hollow member and the handle being mounted outside thereof,

an endless chain formed in an extended loop and located within-the hollow member, said chain being mounted on andA connecting the top and bottom sprockets so that the chain moves as the lower sprocket is rotated,

an L-shaped rib collar support connecting the collar and the chain at a selected point along its vertical length, the horizontal leg of the support being attached at the end thereof to the chain and extending through the axial slot in the support member, the vertical leg being attached at the end thereof to the rib collar outside of the support member, and

a ratchet xedly mounted on the lower sprocket shaft outside of the hollow support member and a pawl mounted proximate the ratchet for engagement therewith when in the engaged position, said pawl and ratchet being complementarily shaped so that when the pawl is in the engaged position it prevents rotation of the ratchet, shaft, bottom sprocket and chain in the direction which causes the collar to descend and the fabric supporting ribs to close, but upon disengagement of the pawl and rotation of the handle in the opposite direction the chain moves so as to raise the collar support and collar thereby opening the fabric supporting Vribs of the umbrella into the desired position.

2. The apparatus as dened in claim 1 wherein the pawl is mounted t-o provide a disengaged position in relation to the ratchet so that when the pawl is manually placed in said disengaged position and the handle is released the collar freely descends down the support member closing the fabric supporting ribs.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 428,529 5/1890 Schofield '/4-37 X 2,161,886 6/1939 Weaver 74-37 X 2,595,697 5/1952 Pereira 13S- 20 2,860,871 1l/1958 Schneider 268-59 3,089,599 5/1963 Casella 214-1 HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A BEACH UMBRELLA OR THE LIKE HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY POSITIONED HOLLOW SUPPORT MEMBER, A PLURALITY OF GENERALLY RADIALLY ARRANGED FABRIC SUPPORTING RIBS EACH MOUNTED AT ONE END ON THE TOP OF THE MEMBER AND AN EQUAL NUMBER OF RODS CONNECTED TO THE RIBS AND A COLLAR MOUNTED FOR VERTICAL MOVEMENT ON THE SURFACE OF THE SUPPORT MEMBER TO OPEN AND CLOSE THE FABRIC SUPPORTING RIBS, APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING THE COLLAR TO MOVE THE RIBS INTO THE DESIRED OPEN POSITION COMPRISING AN AXIAL SLOT FORMED IN THE SUPPORT MEMBER AND EXTENDING A PORTION OF ITS LENGTH, AN UPPER SPROCKET SHAFT EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY THROUGH THE HOLLOW MEMBER ADJACENT TO ITS TOP END AND A SPROCKET MOUNTED ON THE SHAFT WITHIN THE HOLLOW MEMBER FOR INDEPENDENT ROTATION THEREIN, A LOWER SPROCKET SHAFT EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY THROUGH THE HOLLOW SUPPORT MEMBER ADJACENT TO ITS BOTTOM END HAVING A SPROCKET AND HANDLE FIXEDLY MOUNTED THEREON, SAID SPROCKET BEING LOCATED WITHIN THE HOLLOW MEMBER AND THE HANDLE BEING MOUNTED OUTSIDE THEREOF, AN ENDLESS CHAIN FORMED IN AN EXTENDED LOOP AND LOCATED WITHIN THE HOLLOW MEMBER, SAID CHAIN BEING MOUNTED ON AND CONNECTING THE TOP AND BOTTOM SPROCKETS SO THAT THE CHAIN MOVES AS THE LOWER SPROCKET IS ROTATED, AN L-SHAPED RIB COLLAR SUPPORT CONNECTING THE COLLAR AND THE CHAIN AT A SELECTED POINT ALONG ITS VERTICAL LENGTH, THE HORIZONTAL LEG OF THE SUPPORT BEING ATTACHED AT 